Inspired by one of my favorite blogs I thought it would be a great idea to look back each week at those things that brought me the most joy. Making note of the times, places, and people that fill my heart is only making me see joy-filled moments more. I highly recommend joining me!
It was a weird week around these parts! The big kids went to VBS (Vacation Bible School) every day during their normal quiet/nap time which meant eating an early lunch, packing everyone in the car, driving across town to church, driving home, putting the little guys down for naps, loading the little guys back up, picking up the kids, and then coming home to cook dinner. Phew! But the kids had sooo much fun with their friends from church and the crew that worked with them was amazing. There were several students from a local Bible college as well as teens from our youth group and I think they had as much fun as the kids!
1. Mommy Daughter Date
I’m totally cheating with this one! I forgot to include it in last week’s post 🙁 Mercedes and I went on a walk and found a local coffee shop to share a treat in. I thought for sure she would get a donut like mommy but she chose a yogurt and raspberry parfait instead. We ate our snacks, colored some pictures (the shop had a whole kid section with games, toys, and coloring supplies – awesome!) and chatted. It was such a nice time for just us girls – plus it’s part of my goals for July!
2. $0.58 Pancake Stacks
On Tuesday IHOP celebrated it’s 58th anniversary so they offered customers stacks of their original buttermilk pancakes for $0.58 each! I thought this would be a fun and fairly frugal surprise for lunch before VBS so I loaded all the kids up (despite their concern about not having lunch first!) and brought them out. I bravely adventured to a restaurant alone with five children. While it went pretty darn well and the pancakes were delicious, I’m not sure I’ll be doing it again. Trying to figure out the logistics of bathroom needs when I’m the sole adult was challenging! But I’m glad we tried something new and I was pleased to treat the kids to something that filled them with joy.
3. Play doh Time
I shared this photo on social media and so many of you agreed with my thoughts – we have a love/hate relationship with Play-doh! It’s awesome for kids to play with but the clean up! Little bits get left everywhere and those little specks seem to breed over time, even if you sweep! But I decided to embrace the mess this week and let the kids play. It’s been so rainy here and they were itching for something new to do so out the bucket came. Oh my goodness. Nearly two hours in the morning and an hour and a half before dinner. I’m not sure my kids have ever played that long with a single type of toy with minimal fighting before! It was glorious to clean the rest of the kitchen, bake some brownies, get some writing done, play with them and watch them create. Maybe play-doh isn’t so bad after all.
4. Burger Thief!
Two of the kids asked for a burger for lunch this week but we only had one left so I told them they could each have a half – no problem. Of course once I had lunch made one of these children decided they no longer wanted the burger and wanted the same thing as one of the other kids instead. Fine. The other food was already warmed up and this would give the other burger-eater a chance for a full burger. Wrong. That kid finished a half and was done. But Anders… this kid decided he didn’t like the noodles I gave him so he crawled out of his chair, into a different chair, and started munching away. I could only laugh. I’m just glad someone ate it!
5. Sleepy Girl
On Friday afternoon this girl crashed HARD. She normally naps every day so skipping naps all week for VBS was something I wasn’t sure she could handle. I weighed the option of her attending every day based on her mood and every day she did well. But by Friday she was sooo tired. They returned home a little after 4pm and by 430 she was OUT. She finally woke up (after several attempts, moving her around the couch, and rocking with her) sometime after 6pm and gobbled up her dinner. She looked so peaceful on the couch all curled up while her brothers were wrestling and shouting around her.
6. Mommy Son Date
Parker and I got to go on our date on Saturday afternoon. He chose sushi and a park so we had ourselves a sushi picnic! I questioned him several times about his request for sushi because while I know that Micah and I love it, I didn’t want him to think he loved it (he’s tried a few different kinds when we’ve bought it) and then decide it wasn’t a good choice and be hungry. He spent some time thinking but ultimately decided it was what he wanted. We got a small platter (soooo much cheaper than several individual rolls!) and headed to a nearby park. We got to spend lots of time chatting and then chased each other around on the playground. It was an awesome way to spend an afternoon together.